BLM Plans Vegetation Treatment In Whitetail Basin-Pipestone Watershed

The Bureau of Land Management’s Butte Field Office is proposing forest-management treatments on BLM lands in the Whitetail Basin and Pipestone areas, as well as grazing permit renewals and projects to improve rangeland health and decrease erosion.

The vegetation treatments on up to 1,600 acres of grassland, 1,400 acres of forest, 800 acres of shrubland and 100 acres of riparian areas will achieve a number of goals in the Butte Field Office’s Resource Management Plan. The work in the watershed will promote diversity and vigor in the ecosystem, restore the structure and composition of conifer forest stands, reduce hazardous fuels, and restore areas important to wildlife (such as open meadows, riparian areas and aspen stands).

The decision to implement this forest management project may be protested, in writing only, until 4:30 p.m. on April 26. Regulations do not permit the BLM to accept protests in any form other than a signed paper document that is delivered to the physical address of Richard Hotaling, Field Manager, Butte Field Office, 106 North Parkmont, Butte, MT 59701. E-mail, verbal or faxes will not be accepted. Protests on proposed grazing decisions are also due by April 26.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of Americas public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.